1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to diamond wire saws and, more particularly, to a diamond wire saw with an improved structure capable of cutting various rigid or super rigid materials.
2. Description of Related Art
Known diamond wire saws mainly included the following two types.
The first type uses a metal-plated layer to wrap and thereby secure diamond particles to a surface of a metal cable, so as to form a wire saw functioning as a tool for cutting rock, quartz, silicon crystal, and other highly rigid materials. In a diamond wire saw having the aforesaid structure; the metal-plated layer which wraps and secures the diamond particles to a surface of the wire saw is rigid and thus renders the wire saw unsuitable for cutting along curved paths with small radii of curvature. In addition, the metal-plated layer tends to flake off so that the diamond wire saw is no more serviceable.
The second type refers to a wire saw composed of sintered metal bonded diamond beads, wherein countless such diamond beads, each formed with a through hole, are stringed together by a pliable yet strong cord. This type of wire saw is disadvantaged by its relatively large cord diameter, which leads to a kerf typically more than 11 mm in width. In addition, this type of wire saw is also unmanageable when operated along curved cutting paths with small radii of curvature and incurs a considerable production cost.